Family Dinner
by MobBob
Summary: Robbie's family is having Cat over for dinner. However, Robbie's parents assume she's jewish and he's too scared to tell them otherwise. What's going to happen when they find out?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I'm going to go on vacation for a while. I was really hoping to get this story and "No where Else" done before I left, but I couldn't. So I'm going to publish what I've got and finish them when I get back. Hope you guys can wait until then.**

Robbie looked over the table, glancing over things. He looked from place setting to place setting, making sure everything was ready for the upcoming dinner. By every chair was a plate, a fork, a knife, a spoon, a napkin, and a glass. With Rex in hand, he finished his inspection. "Looks like everything's ready for tonight's dinner."

"Nuh uh," said Rex. "You're one place setting short."

"No," said Robbie. "I counted twice. There's a place for everybody to sit."

"So where am I sitting?" said Rex.

"Rex, we've talked about this," said Robbie.

"Come on man," said Rex. "Why can't I come to your fancy dinner?"

"Hey, if it were up to me, you'd be eating with us," said Robbie. "But you know how my parents get."

"Oh yeah," said Rex. "It's your parents who have the problem."

"What are you implying?" said Robbie.

"What you're too afraid to admit," said Rex. "That you have a problem with me."

"I do not!" said Robbie.

"Admit it," said Rex. "You agree with your parents. You don't want me at the dinner either, do you?"

"No!" said Robbie. "I fought to have you eat with us."

"You could've fought harder," said Rex.

As the two argued, Robbie's dad walked into the dining room. "Robbie, what are you doing with Rex?"

"Oh uh, he's just helping me set the table," said Robbie.

Robbie's dad walked over to Robbie. "Robbie, we talked about this. No puppets at the dinner table. Your Mom doesn't like it."

"I know, I know," said Robbie. "I was going to put him away once we were done."

"Well it looks like you're done." Robbie's father walked up to Robbie and took Rex out of Robbie's hands. "Here I'll put Rex away."

"Oh okay," said Robbie. "Just take care of him."

"Don't worry," said Robbie's Dad. "I won't break it."

"Make sure he's somewhere where he can move," said Robbie. "You know he's claustrophobic."

"I will," said Robbie's dad. As he left the dining room, he turned around to Robbie. "If you want, we'll let you bring Rex out after dinner."

"Really?" said Robbie. "And Mom would be okay with that?"

"I'll talk to her about it," said Robbie's dad. "I'm sure she'll let you."

Robbie's dad left the dining room, leaving his son alone. Robbie turned back to the table and recounted the place settings again. It didn't hurt to check a third time, especially without Rex. Without Rex, Robbie was always unsure. He was now starting to doubt whether or not he'd set out the right number of plates and forks. He went around the table and did his third rundown of the table. At the back of his mind, he knew he'd made some mistake. He'd forgotten to set out a plate for Cat's brother, he was sure of it. And yet, even without Rex, everything they needed was set out on the table. Nothing was missing and no one was without. With everything in place, he decided to go to the kitchen to see if his mother needed anything. As he left the dining room and was about to enter the kitchen, he heard his mother yelling. "Howard! Can I get you in the kitchen?"

"I can help you, Mom," said Robbie as he entered the kitchen. Robbie's mother was standing by the stove, stirring a big pot of broth. Next to the pot of broth was a pot of boiling water. She turned to Robbie as he entered the kitchen. "So mom, what do you need me to do?"

"I just need you to stir the broth while I cook the kreplachs," said Robbie's mom.

"I can do that." Robbie took the spoon from his mom and started stirring the pot of broth. His mom went over to the table and picked up a plate of dumplings that she'd prepared earlier that day. She took the plate over to the stove and dropped the dumplings into the pot of water. As Robbie continued to stir the pot of broth, he sniffed the contents of the pot. "The broth smells good. I'm sure they'll love it."

"Thank you," said Robbie's mom.

Robbie continued to stir the broth. "This will be the first time they've had kreplachs."

"They haven't had kreplachs?" said Robbie's mom.

"Um yeah, they've had kreplachs before," said Robbie. He hadn't told his parent that Cat's family wasn't Jewish and wasn't looking forward to the conversation that would inevitably arise from such a revelation. "I meant that this will be the first time they've had your kreplachs."

"Well they're not that different than anybody else's," said Robbie mom.

"I wouldn't say that," said Robbie. "One time I ate dinner and Billy Goldstein's house, and his mom's kreplachs tasted totally different."

"Well, Billy Goldstein's mom isn't the best cook," said Robbie's mom. "Let's just say, I'm surprised those kreplachs were even cooked at all."

Robbie shrugged. "They were a little bit al dente."

"Right, right," said Robbie's Mom as she stirred the dumplings. After a while, they heard the doorbell ring. "That must be them."

"Here, I'll get that," said Robbie before his mother had a chance to leave the kitchen.

"Okay," said his mother, who continued tending to the stove.

Robbie rushed out of the kitchen and down the hallway towards the front door. He stopped only to regain his composure before opening the door. Once he'd done that, he opened the door. He was met by Cat, he jumped out and hugged him. "Robbie!"

"Cat!" Robbie embraced Cat. Once she got off of him, he turned to her family, who were standing in the doorway. He first saw her parents. Both were roughly in their forties. They also both had dark hair, though Cat's father had green eyes, while her mother had dark eyes. Robbie then saw Cat's sister, who was standing beside he parents. She took after her father, having his eyes. Robbie knew she was called Heather. Once he'd looked them over once he extended his hand to them. "It's nice to finally meet you guys. I'm glad you guys could make it. I see Cat's brother couldn't make it."

"No, he's right..." Cat's Dad looked over his shoulder and froze. "He ran away!"

"You shouldn't have let go of his hand, Newman!" Cat's mother ran out onto Robbie's lawn, her husband following close on her heels. "Jake! Jake! Where are you sweetie?"

Robbie and Cat watched as her parents searched for her brother. Cat's father looked around the family car, while her mother looked in the Shapiro's bushes. Cat turned to Robbie. "He does this a lot. Don't worry, they'll find him."

"Should we help them?" said Robbie.

"No," said Cat. "They've got this covered."

"Alright," said Robbie, motioning towards his house. "Well while they look for your brother, how about you guys come in?"

"Sure." Cat grabbed her sister's hand and lead her in the house. Cat's sister made a brief gesture to shake her sister off, but followed her into Robbie's house. Once inside, she looked around taking in everything. She seemed particularly interested in the staircase. This seemed to worry Cat, who looked at her sister with a nervous look. "Heather, why don't you take off your shoes."

"Why should I?" said Heather.

Before either Cat or Robbie could respond, Robbie's mom walked into the room. "Oh hi, is this the great Cat Valentine we've been hearing about?"

"It is." Cat extended her hand for Robbie's mom to shake.

After Robbie's mom shook Cat's hand, she turned to Heather. "And you brought your sister. What's your name?"

"Heather," said Cat's sister.

"Nice to meet you Heather," said Robbie's mom. "Um, where are your parents?"

"Looking for my brother," said Cat.

"Okay," said Robbie's mom. "Well, I've got dinner ready. When they come in we can eat."

"Sounds great," said Robbie.

"Hey, Mrs. Shapiro," said Heather.

"Yes," said Robbie's mother.

"Your staircase is pretty big," said Heather.

"Yes, I guess it is," said Robbie's mother. "I haven't measured or anything."

"Has anyone fallen down it?" said Heather.

Robbie's mother's eyes bulged. "Maybe, I have no idea."

Heather turned to the stairs. "Do you think they survived?"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So I just got back from vacation. I figured since I was away for awhile, I should post some new content, even if this chapter is short. I know most of you wanted an update to "No Where Else". Don't worry, that's coming.**

Eventually, Cat's parents were able to find her brother. He was much taller than any one else in his family. He was also much more muscular than Robbie had imagined. He stood by his parents, his eyes slowly running over the room, taking everything in. He was also twitching slightly. Both his parents seemed nervous. Cat's mother pulled on his shirt. "Hey Jack, why don't you say hi?"

Jack nodded his head and turned himself so that he faced Robbie. "Hi."

"Hi," said Robbie.

"Hey Jack, why don't you sit on the couch?" said Cat's mom. Jack nodded and sat down on the couch. He continued to scan the room with his eyes, almost as if he was looking for something. He didn't seem to stop, even though he must've looked over every inch of the room. His eyes didn't stop or focus on anything in particular. They were constantly moving. At one point he threw his head back and his eyes began to inspect the ceiling. His parents sat right next to him, putting their hands on his arms as if they didn't want him to get up. Cat's Mom started whispering something in his ear. The rest of the Valentine family was quiet. Heather and Cat just stood around the living room. None of them seemed to be bothered by their brother's behavior. Heather was especially enamored with the staircase, not wanting to take her eyes off it. Even Cat was off in her own world, though that wasn't too surprising.

The whole thing was just unsettling to Robbie, who nervously turned towards the kitchen, hoping his mother would come out again. She had darted back in the kitchen to take care of something. Robbie wondered what she was doing and why it was taking so long. Hopefully she'd finish up soon, so she could come out and break the silence. Even having his Dad show up was preferable to the silence. Having to explain that the Valentines weren't Jewish didn't seem so bad now. Robbie wondered where his Dad was. He'd gone to put Rex away a long time ago and was no where to be seen. Rex was always a handful, but it shouldn't take this long to put him away.

Robbie turned to Cat. "So Cat, did you have any trouble finding our house?"

"Not really," said Cat. "I just opened the car door and there it was."

Cat's Dad turned away from her brother. "It wasn't that hard to find your house."

"That's good to hear," said Robbie.

"So what's for dinner?" said Cat's Dad.

"Kreplachs," said Robbie. "Have you had them before?"

"No," said Cat's Dad.

"Well you guys are in luck," said Robbie. "My mom makes great kreplachs."

"You can say that again." Robbie turned towards the staircase, seeing his Dad walking down it. Once he reach the landing, he extended a hand and walked over towards Cat's parents. "I don't think we've been introduced yet. I'm Howard. Howard Shapiro."

Cat's parents stood up and shook his hand. "I'm Newman Valentine, and this is Ellen."

Cat's Mother put her hand behind Jack and helped him off the couch. "And this is Jack. That's Heather."

"And I'm Cat."

"Nice to meet you all," said Robbie's Dad.


	3. Chapter 3

Robbie stood in the corner of the living room, watching as his Dad talked with the Valentine family. He was at the ready, prepared to intervene if the Valentines let anything slip. He was glad his Dad had been out of the room when they'd mentioned they hadn't had kreplachs. Fortunately for Robbie, the conversation had turned to work. "Yes, I'm the manager of the LA branch of MicroTech. You may have heard of us."

"Not really, but sounds interesting," said Cat's Dad. "I'm sure that comes with a lot of perks. Does that mean you get the new devices early?"

"Yeah, I used to get some of our products ahead of everybody else," said Robbie's Dad. "We've kind of moved away from making software. Now we're mostly about consulting. We help companies design their websites and manage their social media. Stuff like that."

"Seems like everybody has a website these days," said Cat's Dad. "You'd think they'd know how to design it themselves."

"Maybe they're not smart enough?" said Cat.

"Well thank god for those people," said Robbie's Dad. He turned back to Cat's Dad. "And what do you do?"

"I'm a lawyer," said Cat's Dad. "Mostly insurance claims. I help people get settlements when the companies don't want to pay."

"Well that sounds interesting," said Robbie's Dad.

"Interesting's not the word I'd use," said Cat's Dad. "But it makes good money."

"I'm sure," said Robbie's Dad. "Pretty stable too."

Cat's Dad shrugged. "There's always going to be insurance companies that don't want to pay."

"True," said Robbie's Dad. "So, did you guys have trouble getting here?"

"Oh no," said Cat's Dad.

"Actually we live just a few blocks away," said Cat's Mom.

"Really?" said Robbie's Dad. "Just a few blocks away? It's funny that we've never met. Not at temple of the market."

"Well we're not that spiritual," said Cat's Dad.

"Oh I see," said Robbie's Dad.

Robbie tugged at his Dad's shirt. "Hey Dad, why don't you ask Cat's Mom what she does for a living?"

"Alright." Robbie's Dad turned to Cat's Mom. "So what do you do?"

"I'm a chef," said Cat's Mom. "Or I was a chef."

"What happened?" said Robbie's Dad.

"Well the restaurant I worked for went out of business," said Cat's Mom. "Right now I'm flipping burgers."

"I'm sorry," said Robbie's Dad. "I'm sure you liked being a chef."

"Yeah, I would be lying if I said I didn't. But my new job's not that bad and we can use the extra money." Cat's Mom playfully patted her Son's knee as she said this.

"I got a new job too," said Jack with a big smile on his face.

Cat's Mom leaned into him. "Jack sweetie, he doesn't want to hear about that."

"Are you sure?" said Jack.

"We're sure," said Cat's father.

"Alright," said Jack, the smile still on his face.

Robbie's Dad turned to Cat. "So Cat, we've heard a lot about you. It feels like we already know you."

Cat's eyes widened. "Wow really? What's my favorite color?"

Robbie's Dad chuckled. "And you're so funny too."

"A lot of people say that about me," said Cat. "Even when I say stuff that's not supposed to be a joke."

Robbie's Dad smiled. "Well, it's weird that we're just now meeting you. I was starting to think Robbie had made you up."

"Why would you think I did that?" said Robbie.

"It's not the first you've done something like that," said Robbie's Dad.

"When have I ever made someone up?" said Robbie.

"Remember Emma Herbert?" said Robbie's Dad.

"Who's Emma Herbert?" said Cat.

"No one," said Robbie.

"Right, because you made her up," said Robbie's Dad.

"Why'd you make her up?" said Cat.

"It was a long time ago," said Robbie. "I don't really remember."

"I do," said Robbie's Dad.

"I don't think they want to hear about," said Robbie.

"There was this school dance," said Robbie's Dad, turning so that he addressed the whole room. He gestured with his hands. "And Robbie didn't have a date. So we went to him and told him it was fine that he couldn't find someone to go with him. But he told us that he had someone who wanted to go to the dance with him, an Emma Herbert. Of course, Emma couldn't go to the dance because she was out of town, but she really wanted to go with him."

Cat turned to Robbie. "Robbie, did you really do that?"

"It was a long time ago," said Robbie. "I don't even remember if it happened."

"It wasn't that long ago," said Robbie's Dad.

Cat's parents were both chuckling. "Cat's got a bit of a wild imagination too."

"What's that supposed to mean?" said Cat.

"Just that you're always inventing stories," said Cat's Mom.

"Like that time you thought the neighbor's dog was a werewolf," said her Dad.

"That's because Heather told me she saw it turn into a werewolf," said Cat.

Cat's Mom turned to Heather, who was still looking at the staircase. "Heather, you know you shouldn't tell stories to Cat or Jack."

Heather looked away from the staircase. "I didn't. I just said it'd be cool if it was a werewolf, like in _The Wolfening_."

"Still," said Cat's Mom. "You know how she gets confused."

"I think Cat's pretty smart," said Robbie.

"She is," said Cat's Dad. "But she likes to go off in her own little world and gets carried away."

Robbie was about to say something in Cat's defense, but then his Mom walked into the room. "Hello everybody, dinner's ready."

"That's great," said Robbie. "I'm sure we're all hungry."

"Yeah, let's go eat," said Cat, motioning to the dining room.

"Sure, I want to see if these kreplachs are as good as Robbie's been saying." Cat's parents both stood up at the same time. They then helped Jack up off the couch and lead him towards the dining room. Heather, who had finally grown tired of the staircase, followed the rest of her family into the dining room. Inside the dining room, Robbie could see that his mother had set bowls of kreplachs around the table. The dumplings floated around in the broth, waiting to be eaten.

Robbie sat next to Cat. Heather sat by her mother. Jack sat in between his parents. Robbie's parents sat together, with his Dad sitting next to Cat. Robbie had wanted to avoid this by putting himself between Cat and his family, but he couldn't do anything about it now. Robbie sighed. He looked around the table. Despite not having had kreplachs before, the Valentines seemed to be eager to eat. Cat's Dad's face lit up as he looked at his bowl. "Oh we're having tortellini. You said we were having...what was it?"

"Kreplachs," said Robbie. "These are kreplachs."

"Well they look like tortellini." Cat's Dad picked up a dumpling with a fork and took a bit. "Tastes just like tortellini."

"What's tortellini?" said Robbie's Dad.

"It's this," said Cat's Dad. "My Mom made this for me all the time."

"I've never heard people call it tortellini," said Robbie's Dad.

"Well we're Italian," said Cat's Dad. "I'm sure other people have different names for it."

"You're Italian?" said Robbie's Dad. "I didn't know that."

"Yeah," said Cat's Dad. "Well I was born here, but my parents were originally from Italy."

"Robbie didn't tell me you were Italian," said Robbie's Dad.

"Why would he?" said Cat's Dad.

Robbie's Dad turned to Robbie. "I don't know, I just figured with how much he's talked about Cat, he would've mentioned it."

"Italians can be Jewish." Truth be told, Robbie didn't know why he said it. He knew he shouldn't have, but something just compelled him to say it. Maybe at the back of his mind he knew his Dad would ask about it. Maybe he knew the charade wasn't going to last much longer and he figured he'd end it now. Regardless of why he did it, the room went silent.

"We're not Jewish," said Cat's Mom.

"You're not?" said Robbie's Dad.

"Did you think we were?" said Cat's Dad.

Robbie's Dad looked to his son. "Well you said-"

"I didn't say she was Jewish," said Robbie.

"I guess I'd assumed," said Robbie's Dad. "You know, you're Jewish. I figured he'd date a Jewish girl too."

"Do you have a problem with us not being Jewish," said Cat's Dad.

"No, no," said Robbie's Dad. "I'd just like to have known before hand."

"So, you would've been fine if I told you Cat wasn't Jewish beforehand?" said Robbie.

"I'd have appreciated the honesty," said Robbie's Dad.

"Leave him alone Howard," said Robbie's Mom.

"Thanks Mom," said Robbie.

"I'm fine with it," said Robbie's Mom. "So long as they raise the kids in the faith."

"Kids?" said Cat's Mom. "What kids?"

"Is Cat pregnant?" said Cat's Dad.

"No! No! No!" said Robbie. "Nobody's pregnant."

"Yeah," said Cat. "We're just friends."

Robbie stood up. "Look Dad, I know you wanted me to date a Jewish girl."

"I don't want you to," said Robbie's Dad. "I was just hoping my grandkids would share our faith."

"Right," said Robbie. "Well okay, I know that's important to you. That's why you married Mom."

"That wasn't the only reason," said Robbie's Dad.

"But I'm not you. I'm fine with Cat, even though she's not Jewish. Because I don't care about that stuff. I care that she's funny, and sweet, and has a great imagination." Robbie put an arm around Cat. "That's why she's my friend."

"Yeah, and that's why Robbie's my friend," said Cat. "Because he's says all those nice things about me. And he's pretty smart. And hey, where'd Jack go?"

Cat's parents looked at Jack's now empty chair. "He's escaped!"

"I told you he wasn't ready to go out again!" said Cat's Dad.

"Jack sweetie, where are you?" said Cat's Mom.

Robbie's Dad joined in. "Jack! Jack! Is he dangerous?"

"He's harmless," said Cat's Dad. "For the most part."

Robbie's Mom jumped up and dashed out of the dining room. "We've got to stop him before he get's into Bubbie's things."

Soon the room emptied, as everyone except for Robbie and Cat left to search for Jack. Heather seemed eager to chase down her brother. Robbie turned to Cat. "I'm sorry. This was supposed to be a special night and I ruined it."

"No you didn't," said Cat.

"I should've told my Dad the truth," said Robbie. "Maybe he wouldn't have reacted the way he did."

"You're not responsible for you Dad," said Cat. "And it wasn't that bad."

"You don't have to be polite," said Robbie. "It was a total disaster."

"I wouldn't say that," said Cat. "I liked your speech at the end."

"You did?" said Robbie.

"Yeah," said Cat. "It was very nice."

Robbie smiled. "You know what? If I had to redo it, I'd say the exact same things all over again."


End file.
